From Our Community

2 Images

“This has become my go-to tea this month ever since I discovered how much better a 3 minute steep is! Savory, smokey, cocoa and bright citrus notes…I’ve had about 4 cups of this each day for the...”
Read full tasting note

“Thank you Brenden for this sample tea!
I know it isn’t December, and I often have to be ‘in the mood’ for my smokier tea’s. It’s one of those things…
When a big snow storm is coming…or the first...”
Read full tasting note

“Sipdown 37/371!
Thank you for sending me this, MissB!
One of the very few smokey teas I enjoy, which is a huge compliment. This was the tea I reached for every time I fancied something smokey,...”
Read full tasting note

“I don’t really know what I expected when I tried this…but it just tastes like I’m eating a campfire. xD Tastes kinda charcoal-y, and pretty smokey. This isn’t the tea for me!
But glad I got to try...”
Read full tasting note

From Whispering Pines Tea Company

The Inspiration
December, you are the month of chills. The month of campfires that die from the bitter cold wind. The month of snowfall and of embers and the moments one cannot wish to describe. December, in all your bright white moonlight and soul-stirring knee-high snowdrift steps, I love you. You are the sound of snowflakes falling through the pines. You are hot cocoa, orange peels and cloves with the warmth of the fireplace dancing across my toes. My hot tea reminds me only of the moments I spent last night shivering cold with snowflakes on my beard. How is it that the bite of your night is so painfully addictive as to keep me wanting more? Perhaps I will ponder your eerie charm with another full moon walk with another cup of tea.

This rustic blend is inspired by the month of December and our longing desire to take midnight walks when the snow is lit up by the moonlight. December has a savory, smooth body with notes of dark chocolate and citrus, the perfect amount of smoke and a tiny hint of roastiness in the background.

Notes
Cocoa
Citrus
Malt
Roasty
Pinesmoke
Brisk

How to brew the perfect cup:
Steep 1/2 tablespoon of leaves
in 8 ounces of boiling water
for 3 minutes.

2nd infusion: 5 minutes
3rd infusion: 10 minutes

Ingredients
A blend of black tea from Fujian, China and the Blue Mountains of India

Whispering Pines Tea Company is dedicated to bringing you the most original, pure, beautiful tea blends. We use only the highest quality ingredients available to create additive-free teas teas inspired by the pristine wilderness of Northern Michigan. Our main focus is on customer satisfaction and quality.

25 Tasting Notes

This has become my go-to tea this month ever since I discovered how much better a 3 minute steep is! Savory, smokey, cocoa and bright citrus notes…I’ve had about 4 cups of this each day for the past week :)

Hopefully the snowy memories that inspired this tea will bring the snow soon!

Which actually seems doubly silly since the website tag is “Inspired by the true wilderness of Northern Michigan”. But yeah I thought somewhere with forests because so many of your teas are forest-themed.

I know it isn’t December, and I often have to be ‘in the mood’ for my smokier tea’s. It’s one of those things…

When a big snow storm is coming…or the first brisk winds of Fall followed by a downpour…give me a mug of bold smoky tea and something sweet like dark chocolate to enhance the experience.

That big snow is coming. We’ve been having no snow hardly at all and warm weather. The Continent has been dry one way and a wreck of a Winter the other with Colorado humming along with a dribble of an inch of snow here and there and temperatures up to the 50’s and 60’s. We have a lot of sunshine!

When I say big snow, I mean maybe 8-10 inches which isn’t that much.
(I’ve never seen ice)

So I finally brought out the Whispering Pines December tea that Brenden sent me from its hiding place. Another smoky little tea (I thought).

It smelled like smoke so I assumed it would taste like smoke.

Surprisingly, the taste was cocoa-smoky… smooth and lighter than I had expected. I hadn’t read Brendens review prior to my tasting and didn’t realize he had used the Fujian Black Tea.

As for his comment about the tea being brisk…and citrusy, um I can’t say that I found either. Smooth and borderline floral…with not a hint of smoky harshness.

I have to say this is one of the better smoked tea’s I’ve tasted. There’s a compromise for those who like dark chocolate with a little smokiness to it (but not lapsang souchong).

Thank you for sending me this, MissB!
One of the very few smokey teas I enjoy, which is a huge compliment. This was the tea I reached for every time I fancied something smokey, which isn’t very often. It’s surprisingly delicate, but not weak. The smoke doesn’t overpower the base but rather works with it to create a seamless, delicious malty, smokey, chocolatey tea which I could happily drink all afternoon. I don’t get any citrus notes from this tea as others have mentioned, but I like it just how it is. Unfortunately, this is the end of the road for December and I for a very long time. I won’t be buying any more tea for the foreseeable future, but when I do I will definitely consider adding this to my list. It wasn’t one I drank frequently, but I thoroughly enjoyed it when I did.

Preparation

I don’t really know what I expected when I tried this…but it just tastes like I’m eating a campfire. xD Tastes kinda charcoal-y, and pretty smokey. This isn’t the tea for me!
But glad I got to try a sample.
Thank you Zach S. for a sample! :D

I ordered December as part of my first purchase from Whispering Pines Tea Company. And wow, I’m impressed! I enjoy smoky teas, as well as teas with chocolate notes. This blend has both, and as I might have expected, it’s delicious.

In the bag, the dry leaves have a strong smoky scent. When steeped, the smoke gets softer, with just a hint of sweetness behind it. Judging by the aroma, I thought the tea would taste smoky, with hints of chocolate. But I was wrong! When sipped, December is almost all chocolate notes, coupled with the smooth malty flavor of a high-quality black tea. The chocolate note is definitely dark chocolate, and the smoke is still there, but it’s mostly a subtle aftertaste. This tea holds up well to resteeping. On the second cup, I still get strong notes of chocolate, along with a little smoke. The third cup is lighter, with an almost mineral taste and hints of cocoa.

For the past year, I’ve been searching for a light smoky tea that doesn’t taste like a campfire. (I kind of like that ashy flavor, but I have to be in the right mood for it!) With December, I’ve found the perfect smoky blend for me. It’s a black tea, first and foremost: malty and smooth as silk. And while it doesn’t have any added chocolate flavoring, it has surprisingly strong cocoa notes. Basically, it’s a blend for tea lovers who are also chocolate lovers. The subtle smokiness makes it perfect for fall, too! I’m sure I’ll be forced to restock, on the unhappy day when I run out. (And thank you, fellow Steepster users, for alerting me to Whispering Pines Tea Company, and introducing me to this amazing blend.)

So I was sipping on “December” just now and I was listening to December by Collective soul, WAS until he sang “turn your head now baby just spit me out” Spit Out December?? No way!!!!!!
So I switched my song to “Once Upon A December” from Anastasia sang by Liz Callaway,
Beautiful song much more fitting for this tea :)
I felt like singing along so I did ;)

Dancing Bears, Painted Wings, Things I almost Remember…
And a Song someone sings, Once Upon a Deceeeeemmmbbbeeerrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!

Time for afternoon tea! I had a stomach bug for several days, so now that I’m feeling better I should be back in the swing of things! I missed all youse guys.

This cup is courtesy of the lovely Veronica. Brewed up, the tea is a clear shade of warm amber. I’m catching scents of wet wood, bonfire, dark chocolate, and sea salt as they waft from my cup. There’s some fruit tones there too, but I get “berry” while others have gotten “citrus”.

Each sip starts brisk, with a fruity sweetness that to me is reminiscent of Ashes of Autumn and its “longan fruit” flavor. Is this what longan fruit tastes like? I couldn’t say! It’s still not citrus to me. From brisk and bright it moves into a smooth roastiness with undertones of sweet, fresh wood. There’s some cocoa and some malt at the very end, but the predominant tone is a light honey-sweetness. What is that fruit…it’s not citrus, but reminiscent of citrus. Phooey. I give up. There’s a light, hazy smokiness that persists throughout the cup. It gets sweeter as it cools and it gains a sort of thickness in body. More malt—it coats your tongue. Delicious! I’d love to have a cup of this with an omelette or a plate of crumpets. That’s my fantasy and I’m content to live it in my head for now.

This tea came as part of the grab bag of awesomeness that I got from Miss B. I was excited to try a Whispering PInes tea since there are so many WP fangirls on Steepster! When I opened up the pouch, omg it smelled like smoke. I’m not really a fan of smoky teas but I thought I’d try it anyway. Taste-wise, the smoke really dominates so this tea is not really for me. Underneath the smoke, I feel like this tea is pleasant and roasty but I can’t really tell because the smoke just lingers and takes over. I have two more WP blends that I’m excited to try though:-)

boychik, I don’t think I own any actual maple syrup? I’ll have to look. But I bet that would complement the smokiness.

TheTeaFairy, the other two I have are Foxfire chai and Breath of Life (if I’m remembering correctly). They were random samples from Miss B.

whatshesaid, I don’t think smoky teas are for me either. That being said, while I didn’t totally enjoy this cup, I thought it was well done and didn’t have any trouble finishing 12oz. So don’t be scared :-)

Smokey teas used to freak me out, but then I tried adding a little maple syrup, & suddenly I was drinking some kind of caramelized flambee like dessert! And suddenly I liked smokey teas better, even without the maple, in fact I don’t use maple in them often.
On the other hand, some smokey teas aren’t actually smoked, at least I don’t think they are. If a smokey tea tastes too much like, “Where’s the BBQ sauce?” then they probably used some kind of smoke flavoring, instead of taking time to do the real deal.

Let me tell you about how I instantly fell in love with this tea. This is my first very smoky tea, and I was a bit “ish” about it when I realized that my cup smelled like beef jerky. BUT, when I took that first sip, I was SO surprised. There are some very obvious cocoa notes that appear just before the smoke, and it just works. The contrast between the flavours is what really makes this stand out, I would most definitely buy this.